After Life
by SaturnEclipse
Summary: After being imprisoned in Crystal Stasis for 11 years, Lightning is finally free. Or so she thought. The years had not been kind to the survivors after the fall of Cocoon. Aristocracy has taken the place of the former Prime Arch and elected a queen to rule over all. This story follows the stories of three rebel protagonist's fight for the freedom they so desperately crave.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Seasons**

Lightning sagged in her cell as she heard the door clang shut and the tell-tale sign of a bolt sliding home echoed around her. It was a blessing to have these five minutes of peace as the guards exchanged the dayshift to the nightshift. Inhaling a deep breath, she allowed her eyes to slide shut and relax the tired muscles in her neck and shoulders. The season was turning again. She could feel it in the air and in her bones. She shivered as the cruel east wind enveloped her in its icy embrace.

The cycle of autumn to winter was the cruellest stretch to endure, with no cloak or blanket to comfort her. They had taken all those benefits away when she used the material to strangle a man that had become too friendly with her. Her cellmate's lustful gaze she had accepted as the norm, but she ended him when he tried to force himself on her. She supposed that the guards feared she would murder any other that shared her quarters, because she had the cell to herself from that day on. It saddened her to see how far she had fallen.

Each day that passed chipped into her and left her feeling emptier than she ever had in her life. Her body might be in relatively good health, but her mind was fading after four winters of confinement. The only thing she could do was act defiant in front of her captors even though she could not muster up the emotion in reality. It was the only way to keep the self-pity from overwhelming her.

Lightning was not nearly this complacent in the early stages of imprisonment. The steel bars had chafe marks where she had worn them down with fabric of her sheets. Holes were dug in the ground as she tried to burrow herself out. She had even made alliances with other prisoners in her attempts to win her freedom. But she sealed her fate as soon as she snuffed the live out of some bastard.

As a chilling breeze came up she opened her eyes. _I'm growing older_, she thought.

Slowly Lightning's determination dwindled into nothingness. The future she had imagined for herself in Guardian Corps was stolen from her. She would never see her friends again. But worst of all, she would never see Serah again.

An image of her sister came to mind. The shared pink hair and matching blue eyes and almost identical facial features hurt her more than she could have thought. She could hardly look at her own reflection in the puddles of water around her without being reminded of what she lost.

White fog escaped Lightning's lips in thick panicked puffs as overwhelming sadness surged in her chest. Her eyes shot around frantically as she tried to focus on something, anything to go back to the numbness that had become her friend.

It didn't work. Thoughts of Hope now ravaged her. The boy still needed her, he still had so much to learn about the world and she wouldn't be able to teach him now. She trusted that Snow, Serah and Sazh would take him under their wings. But what if they didn't? What if he had refused them and left to go on his own adventures?

Lightning wondered if her friends were looking for her, but it was hard to imagine. It had been too long, they must think that she had been killed by some beast or even exposure. The macabre thoughts were interrupted when the door clanged open yet again, signalling the night shift.

"Hello Lightning." the guard said. "Looking for some company."

She glanced at him. This guard she remembers, Silas he was called, man with the hard face and the glassy lust filled eyes. He wasn't that bad, to be honest. The guard had never tried to force himself on her as she had expected the first night and he stayed his distance. It was always just the same question and that was that.

"I think we both know the answer to that."

He smiled and made himself at home behind the desk to the right side of the room. "All right then. But if you ever need company…"

"You'll be here. I know." She murmured.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN : Okay, so here is the next chapter to this story. It's a lot darker than anything I've written before, so this is new to me. Hope you have been enjoying it so far (^_^) Please review!**

Chapter 2

The Outside

Outside Lightning's cell, surrounding it, was a strange sound, almost like an electric cable crackling when ripped from its socket. She recognised the sound immediately. Manna drives powering up. She leaned forward and pulled herself up to look through the barred window. She imagined a prickling sensation on her fingertips that touched the metal, like the discharge of static electricity, and jerked her hand away sharply.

The Psicom soldiers did not carry manna drives in, or around the prison on the off chance that a prisoner might manage to get their hands on one. Only manual weapons were allowed, as a stolen Gunblade would not cause nearly as much damage as a shielded super charged human. Lightning thought, even though it felt farfetched, that it was more likely that there was a squad attempting a mass breakout below.

Her thoughts we're confirmed when she heard a muffled shout, followed by a gunshot. Almost immediately the answering fusillade crackled from the prison. More than one shot fired simultaneously, and dust kicked off the lip of the ravine a couple of stories below. This was a most interesting development.

The guard, who had been dozen in his chair, blinked blearily at all the noise. It took him a while before he registered what was going on outside. "Wha…hey, what the hell." He groaned, and shook his head in an obvious attempt to wake up. Lightning sneered. His sloppiness would have got him fired from the Guardians Corp in a second and she would have been the one to do it.

Without thinking she quickly bent down, tore a long piece of material from her shirt and broke a piece of rubble from the wall. In less than a minute Lightning had created a crude slingshot. She had done this before, but the slingshot never quite reached enough velocity to make any real damage. Still, the weapon comforted her.

Gunshots cracked all around and screams of pain and anger echoed from below. This was her chance. Slowly Lightning spun the slingshot overhead, but before she could really get it going, Silas caught the movement. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm trying to puncture your eyeball with this stone."

"I haven't got time for this, can't you hear that we are under attack. I've got to move you to a secure area." He sighed and unlocked the cell. As he approached Lightning she kicked him in the shin. His hand jumped to the gunblade, but dropped his hand from and charged.

Silas outweighed her by at least 60 kilograms, and she had lost all of the muscle training had given her. She was weak and if she were to fight him hand-to hand she would get pummelled. The only way to get out of there was to stay out of his grasp. Expecting this Lightning ducked beneath his outstretched arms, until her body was almost pressed up against him and hit Silas in the throat.

This should have incapacitated him for a minute, but he only gagged, then punched Lightning in the jaw. Before Lightning could even hit the floor a boot smashed against her ribs, sending her flying. His foot came down again, without thinking she swung out her leg and kicked his feet from under him. Silas fell to his knees and she took the opportunity to grab the Gunblade from its holster.

Lightning stared at Silas for a few moments, hand rested on the butt of the gunblade in her right hand. "I've never done anything to you, except bring you food and water. I even protected you from the batshit crazy guards who wanted to fuck you up for causing so much mayhem. You owe me." She pulled the trigger and watched as the soldier jerked backwards, as if he had been shoved. The bullets exploded out of his back in a shower of blood and flesh, as if someone had taken a can of paint and splattered it all around the room. It was a shame that Silas had to die. She had liked him in an odd way.

**AN : I feel like the chapters are a bit short. Do you think that I should add an extra paragraph or two? **


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